Test Cricket Tours - Australia to West Indies 1964-65

Test Cricket Tours - Australia to West Indies 1964-65

Tour of West Indies 1964-65 Captain: Bob Simpson

Thirtieth Australian Test tour

Second Test-playing tour of West Indies by Australia.

(February - May 1965)

The Frank Worrell Trophy went to West Indies for the first time, a satisfactory start for their new captain, Garfield Sobers, who was guided by the team manager, Sir Frank himself.

The Test match series was played against a backcloth of controversy after journalist Richie Benaud paraded a collection of slow-motion films to demonstrate that in his opinion Charlie Griffith broke the laws of cricket by throwing his faster deliveries, the yorker and the bouncer. At the end of the tour Simpson and O’Neill added their similar views. Mr T Pierce, President of the West Indies Board, complained about their statements pointing out that the umpires had not called Griffith.

Bill Lawry thought that the tourists had allowed their indignation about Griffiths to affect their play. Bob Simpson also came in for criticism for not going for a win in the fourth Test, ensuring that Australia could not win the series, even though they won the final Test.

Other Australian Tours

Previous tour

India & Pakistan 1964-65

Next tour

South Africa 1966-67

Next tour of West Indies

1972-73

Members of the Test tour party (16)

Opening batsmen: Bill Lawry, Bob Simpson, Sam Trimble

Middle-order batsmen: Brian Booth, Norman O’Neill, Bob Cowper, Barry Shepherd, Graham Thomas

Wicket-keepers: Wally Grout, Barry Jarman

Spin bowlers: David Sincock, Peter Philpott

Fast bowlers: Peter Allan, Laurie Mayne, Graham McKenzie, Neil Hawke

P J Allan	Qld	29	RFM

B C Booth	NSW	31	RHB vice-captain

R.M.Cowper	Vic	24	LHB OB

A T W Grout	Qld	37	WK

N J N Hawke	SA	25	RFM

B N Jarman	SA	29	deputy WK

W M Lawry	Vic	28	LHB opener

G D McKenzie	WA	23	RF

L C Mayne	WA	23	RFM

N C O'Neill	NSW	27	RHB LBG

P I Philpott	NSW	30	LBG

B K Shepherd	WA	27	LHB

R B Simpson	NSW	29	RHB opener LBG captain

D J Sincock	SA	23	SLA unorthodox

G Thomas	NSW	26	RHB

S C Trimble	Qld	30	RHB opener

State representation

Sheffield Shield teams

NSW New South Wales (5)

Qld Queensland (3)

S South Australia (3)

T Tasmania (0)

V Victoria (2)

W Western Australia (3)

Average age of team at time of first Test match

(3 March 1965) :

28 yrs 0 months

Test Appearances made before the tour

Grout 36, O’Neill 33, Simpson 31, Lawry 20, McKenzie 18, Booth 17, Hawke 9, Jarman 7, Cowper 5, Shepherd 3, Sincock 1, Allan 0, Mayne 0, Philpott 0, Thomas 0, Trimble 0.

Tour Officials

Bob Parish	Manager
	Physiotherapist

Selectors

Sir Donald Bradman (South Australia), Dudley Seddon (New South Wales), Jack Ryder (Victoria)

Selection

Unavailable: Peter Burge (business reasons), Tom Veivers (family reasons - unable to find a suitable house to buy)

Not selected : Alan Connolly, Ian Redpath, Doug Walters.

Tour Party Announced : 13 January 1965.

Time between selection and departure from Australia

31 days

(13 January - 13 February)

Travel

Sydney Q Kingston

The team flew from Sydney on 13 February 1965 via Honolulu and San Francisco to JFK Airport, New York, where delayed by engine failure, and then on to Kingston, Jamaica, arriving on 15 February.

Time spent in West Indies

103 days

(15 February - 29 May)

On-tour selection

Bob Simpson (captain), Brian Booth (vice-captain), Bill Lawry.

Reinforcements

None

Fixtures/Results

a	ϯ St Ann’s Bay	Jamaica Colts (2-day)	Won inns 16 r
b	Kingston	Jamaica	Won inns 6 r
c	KINGSTON	WEST INDIES First Test	LOST 179 r
d	Basseterre	Leeward Islands	Won inns 31 r
e	ϯ Pointe a Pierre	Trinidad Colts (2-day)	Drawn
f	Port of Spain	Trinidad & Tobago	Drawn
g	PORT OF SPAIN	WEST INDIES Second Test	DRAWN
h	ϯ Georgetown	British Guiana Colts (2-day)	Drawn
i	Georgetown	British Guiana	Drawn
j	GEORGETOWN	WEST INDIES Third Test	LOST 212 r
k	ϯ Bridgetown	Barbados Colts (2-day)	Drawn
l	Bridgetown	Barbados	Drawn
m	BRIDGETOWN	WEST INDIES Fourth Test	DRAWN
n	PORT OF SPAIN	WEST INDIES Fifth Test	WON 10 w
o	St George’s, Grenada	Windward Islands	Drawn
p	ϯ Scarborough	Tobago (1day)	Drawn

† not first-class

Time spent in West Indies before First Test:

47 days

(15 February - 3 March)

Test appearances on tour

5 - Booth, Cowper, Grout, Hawke, Lawry, McKenzie, Philpott, Simpson, Thomas

4 - O’Neill

3 - Mayne

2 - Shepherd

1 - Sincock

0 - Allan, Jarman, Trimble.

Highlights

•

• Bill Lawry (210) and Bob Simpson (201) posted Australia’s highest opening partnership, 382, in Australia’s total of 650 for six declared at Port of Spain. Bob Cowper followed with his own century

• They were the first opening pair in Test history to score double centuries in the same innings.

Tour Summary

	P	W	L	D	Aban
Test Matches	5	1	2	2	-
Other first-class matches	6	2	0	4	-
ϯ Minor matches	5	1	1	3	-
All Matches	16	4	3	9	-

Return to Australia

Port of Spain Q Sydney

The last match ended in Tobago on 27 May and the team flew to Trinidad that day. They left Piarco Airport on Saturday 29 May for New York where the team split up, some taking a holiday and others returning to Australia. Cowper, Hawke and journalist Bob Gray stayed in New York for a holiday. Bob Parish went to Fiji.

Time away from Australia

x days

(13 February - 1 June?)

Finances

…..

Written accounts of the tour

“The New Champions” (1965) by Richie Benaud [Hodder & Stoughton]

Postscript